Men's Cross Country Breaks Through for First Title in 36 Years

ASHLAND, Neb. - After 36 years that included near misses, the Doane men's cross country team broke through on Saturday with their first conference championship since 1989. The Tigers snapped Dordt's seven-year run after nearly knocking off the Defenders a year ago.

Doane hosted this year's Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championships at Mahoney State Park. The runners put forth a quick race, with 16 runners finishing with a faster time than last year's winning mark.

The Tigers had five runners place in the Top 15, giving each individual All-GPAC honors for 2025. Alvin Keter led Doane with a time of 24:50.1, a season-best mark. Michael Grigsby finished fourth with a time of 25:02.4 and Porter Bickley crossed the finish line in a time of 25:04.7 to place sixth. Jayden Wall ran a time of 25:13.0 to place 10th and Emmanuel Yego took 14th with a time of 25:30.1.

Also running for the Tigers:
Nate O'Brien - 27th (26:22.7)
Will Dawes - 29th (26:29.8)
Logan Menke - 35th (26:48.8)
Alex Fowler - 38th (27:03.3)
Cody Smith - 47th (27:26.6)

Doane's team time of 2:05:40.30 was nearly six minutes faster than last year's championship team mark. The Tigers finished with 36 team points, out-pacing Dordt which finished with 50. With the championship win, Doane receives an automatic team bid to the NAIA Championships in Florida. It will mark the third straight year the Tigers have qualified as a team for nationals, last doing so in 1995, 1996, and 1997.